Automatic train-stop



E. N STANLEY.

AUTOMATIC TRAIN STOP.

APPLICATION FTLED JULY 7. I919.

Patented Jan. 11,1921.

3 SHEETSSH'IET 2.

WITNESS I I VENTO EverefiNSZanZey, @M 6L@MT- fffigzw ATTORNEY.

E. N. STANLEY.

AUTOMATIC TRAIN STOP.

APPLICAHON mu) JULY 2, m9.

1,364,957. I t t d Jan. 11, 1921.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

INVENTOR.

EVERETT N. STANLEY, OF TOPEKA, KANSAS.

AUTOMATIC TRAIN-STOP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 11, 1921.

Application filed July 7, 1919. Serial No. 308,120.

T0 at 10/1/0972) it may can 061% Be it known that I, EVERETT N. STANLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Topeka, in the county of Shawnee and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Train- Stops, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to automatic train stops, and my object is to provide a comparatively simple, inexpensive and reliable apparatus of this character whereby a train or car entering a block occupied by another train or car will be automatically stopped and thus avoid danger of a collision.

The invention is adaptable for use on steam and electric railways, and one feature resides in means accessible only to an inspector which indicates when the engineer or motorman has disregarded signals and entered a block already occupied by another train or car.

Other features of the invention will hereinafter appear, and in order that said invention may be fully understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an end elevation of a locomotive cab equipped with the major portion of the apparatus.

Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are fragmentary vertical sections on lines II-II, III-III and IV-IV, respectively, of Fig. 1, with the inclosing box removed.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section on line V- V of Fig. 6, of a valve and piston constituting a portion of the apparatus.

Fig. 6 is an irregular horizontal section on line VIVI of Fig. 5. a I

Fig. 7 is a horizontal longitudinal section taken on line VIIVII of F1g. 8, showing a cylinder and associated parts embodied in the apparatus.

Fig. 8 is an end elevation of the cylinder and certain other parts disclosed on Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the rear end of the locomotive boiler and that portion of the apparatus associated therewith.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged, horizontal section on line X-X of Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 shows a semaphore with a lever connected thereto for actuating the apparatus 011 the locomotive when said semaphore is in danger position, as indicated by dotted lines.

Fig. 12 is a horizontal section on line XIIXII of Fig. 11.

A designates the cab of a locomotive, B the boiler, G the stem of the throttle valve. D the throttle lever for actuating the throt tle valve, F the latch for engaging the notched segment G to hold the throttle lever D in any of its adjusted positions, and H the lever of the valve I which controls the air brakes of the train. All of the foregoing are of ordinary or any preferred construction, and hence a detailed description thereof is deemed unnecessary.

In carrying out my invention I mount a rock shaft 2 in bearings 4 and 6 which are, preferably, arranged upon the roof of the locomotive cab A, as disclosed on Fig. 1. One end of the rock shaft 2 projects laterally beyond the cab roof and is provided with a fixedly-mounted arm 8. When in normal position said arm 8 extends upwardly as disclosed on Figs. 1 and 2, and is designed to limit the rotary movement of the shaft 2, to, approximately, a quarter of a revolution by swinging backwardly and downwardly into contact with a bracket 10, projecting laterally from the bearing 6.

12 designates one member of an indicator comprising said member 12 and a lever 14, which latter is pivoted at one end to a bracket 16 secured to the cab roof. The member 12 is fixed to the rock-shaft 2 and provided at its free end with a hook 18, adapted to engage under the free end of the lever 14 and hold the same in raised position as disclosed on Fig. 12. A short slack cable 20 is connected at one end to the lever 14 and at its opposite end to a pawl 22, secured by a pivot 24 to a bracket 26 fixed upon the cab roof. Said short cable 20 runs over a guide pulley 28, journaled in the upper end of the bracket 26.

A spring 30 connected at one end to the bracket 26 and bearing at its opposite end against the pawl 22 yieldably holds the same in engagement with the teeth of a segmental ratchet 34, fixed to the shaft 2 to prevent the same from being rocked in the direction to raise the arm 8 until the train has been stopped. The pawl 22 is adapted to be raised out of engagement with the ratchet 34 through the intermediacy of the short cable 20, the lever 14, and a long cable 38 which is attached at its upper end to the free end of said lever 14 and extends downwardly to the bottom of the cab A, where it is provided with a handle 40. Said long cable 38 runs around guide sheaves 42 and 44 and extends downwardly through a duct 46 fixed to one side of the cab A, to prevent any of the train crew from reaching the cable to reset the shaft 2 and the arm 8 without first stopping the train.

48 designates a block fixed to the rockshaft 2 and coacting with a lever 50 in yieldably holding said rock-shaft 2 in position to hold the arm 8 in either its raised or lowered positions. Said block 48 and the lever 50 also coact in completing the rocking movement of the shaft 2, as will hereinafter ap pear. The lever 50 is pivotally connected at one end to a bracket 52 and is yieldably held in engagement with the block 48 by a spring 54.

The end of the rock-shaft 2 opposite the end carrying the arm 8, is provided with a fixedly-mounted bevel wheel 56 to actuate an intermeshing bevel gear 58 fixed upon the upper end of a rotary valve 60 seated in a case 62, which is cast or otherwise connected to a cylinder 64. The case 62 and the cylinder 64 are provided with flanges 66 and 68, for connection with corresponding flanges 70 and 72 on steam pipes 74 and 76, respectively.

The valve case62 is provided with an inlet duct 80 and exhaust ducts 82 and 84. The inlet duct 80 leads to the lower end of the cylinder 64, which is provided at its upper end with an outlet duct 86 communicating with the pipe 76. The exhaust duct 82 communicates with the inlet duct 80 and the atmosphere, while the exhaust duct 84 communicates with the atmosphere and a branchpipe 88, connected at its ends to one side of the valve case 62 and one side of the outlet duct 86. The valve 60 is provided with transverse ports 90, 91 and 92, which control the flow of steam through the ducts 80, 82 and 84, respectively.

The cylinder 64 is provided with a reciprocatory piston 93 connected to a rod 94, which extends downwardly and pivotally connects the stem C of the throttle valve to the throttle lever D. The lower end of the rod 94 is provided with a flange 95, Fig. 10, adapted to move freely through slots 96 and 98 in the stem C and thethrottle lever D, respectively, and become seated in a recess 100 in the upper side of said stem 0 to disconnect the same from the throttle lever D, so that the throttle valve may be automatically closed, as will hereinafter appear.

The steam pipe 7 6 extends downwardly and is connected to one end of a cylinder 102, Figs. 1, 7 and 9, which is provided adj acent its opposite end with an exhaust pipe 104 leading to atmosphere. The cylinder 102 is provided with a reciprocatory piston 106, the stem of which projects through one end of said cylinder 102 and is provided at its outer end with a fork 108 having a pair of sleeves 110 and 112 freely mounted thereon. The sleeve 110 is pivotally connected to one end of a lever 114, fulcrumed at 116 and pivotally connected at its opposite end to the throttle stem C, Figs. 1 and 9. The sleeve 112 is pivotally connected to the upper end of a lever 120 fulcrumed at 122 and having its lower outturned end 124 pivotally connected to a link 126, which in turn is pivotally connected to an extension 128 on the handle H of the air brake valve 1.

All of the mechanism on top of the cab A excepting the outer end of the rock-shaft 2 and the lever 8 are inclosed in a box 130 which is provided with a lock and key, so that access cannot be gained to the incloscd mechanism, excepting by an authorized inspector provided with such key.

The arm 8 is adapted to be rocked backwardly by a lever 132 mounted on a fulcrum 134 projecting from a block 136 secured to a semaphore post K by suitable means such as bolts 138 and a yoke 140. Pivotal movement of the lever 132 on its fulcrum 134 is restricted by inclined. shoulders 142 and horizontal shoulders 144 on the side of the block 136. A counterbalance 146 adjustably secured to the short end of the lever 132 by a set screw 150 serves to render the operation of said lever 132 quite easy, so that but little additional power is required to actuate the semaphore L which controls the lever 132 through a connecting rod 152. The semaphore L may be of ordinary or preferred construction and is operably mounted in the usual manner upon the upper portion of the post K.

The long end of the lever 132 is provided with a hinge 154 which permits its end to be swung backwardly in the direction indicated by the arrow, Fig. 12, by the arm 8 should the engineer desire to back out of a block which he entered when the semaphore was in danger position. A coil spring 156 carried by a quadrant 158 serves to normally hold the hinged end of the lever 132 in alinement with the main portion of said lever. The quadrant 158 is fixed at one end to the main portion of the lever 132 and extends freely through a bracket 160 fixed to the hinged end of the lever 132. The spring 156 is prevented from forcing the hinged end of the lever 132 forwardly out of alinement with the main portion of said lever by the overlapping end 162 of a brace 164, fixed to the main portion of the lever 132 and pivotally mounted on a stud bolt 166 arranged in alinement with the fulcrum 134 and projecting from the yoke 140.

Briefly stated, the operation is substantially as follows: Assuming that the mechanism on the cab is set for operation, which is always the case when starting on a trip, and the engineer enters a block occupied by another train as evidenced by the horizontal position of the semaphore L, the arm 8 con tacts the long end of the horizontally cis posed lever 132 and is forced backwardly in the direction indicated by the arrow on Fig. 2. As the arm 8 rocks backwardly it rocks the shaft 2 therewith which in turn rocks the block 48 until the same has described a little more than one-half of its movement, whereupon it is quickly forced to complete its movement by the upward swing of the lever 50, which is suddenly forced upwardly by the spring 44 which was compressed during the initial movement of the block 48. As the shaft 2 rocks backwardly it carries the segmental ratchet 34 therewith, the teeth of which slip by the pawl 22 until said ratchet segment 34 comes to rest. When this occurs the pawl 22 prevents forward rotation of the ratchet segment 34 and hence the arm 8 cannot be raised until the train is stopped and one member of the train crew pulls downwardly upon the handle 40 to disengage the pawl 22 from the ratchet segment 34, while another member restores the arm to raised position. When the shaft 2 rocks backwardly as first described, in the direction of the arrow on Fig. 2, it swings the indicator member 12 out of engagement with the lever 14 and allows the latter to drop a short distance limited by the slack in the cable 20. Hence, when the arm 8 is raised and restores the indicator member 12 to normal position the lip 18 thereof will pass above the lever 14 instead of below the same as when the mechanism was initially set. Thus, when the train reaches the end of its trip and the inspector opens the box 130 he can tell by the position of the lever 14 beneath the lip 18, that the engineer disregarded orders and entered a block when the semaphore K was 111 danger position.

If the engineer should continue to disregard the danger signal after entering an occupied block the train will be automatically stopped by the closing of the throttle valve and the setting of the brakes, whichis accomplished as follows: When the arm 8 contacts the lever 132 and is rocked backwardly it rocks the shaft 2 therewith as above described and causes the bevel gear wheels 56 and 58 to turn the valve 60, which then permits steam to pass from the boiler B to the cylinder 64 through the pipe 74, and the duct 80. As the steam enters the lower portion of the cylinder 64 it raises the piston 93, which in turn lifts the rod 94 until its flange 95 enters the recess 100 and disconnects the throttle stem C from the throttle lever D. The throttle is then closed through the intermediacy of the lever 1.14, which is actuated by the piston 106 as the same is forced backwardly by steam entering the cylinder 102 from the cylinder 64 through the pipe 76. After the piston 106 has been forced to the end of its backward stroke the steam is permitted to es cape through the exhaust pipe 104 and relieve the high pressure in the valve case 62, the cylinders 64 and 1.02 and their pipe connection. .Vhen the piston 106 actuates the lever 114 to close the throttle, said piston 106 also sets the brakes through the intermediacy of the lever 120, and its connections with the air brake valve I.

The steam continues to exhaust through the pipe 104 until the arm 8 is raised to normal position. Raising of the arm 8 re sults in rotating the valve 60, causing it to close the inlet port 90 and open the exhaust ports 91 and 92. The pistons 93 and 106 may then be restored to normal position, so that the air brakes may be released and the rod 94 lowered to again connect the throttle stem 0 to the throttle lever D. After the parts have been restored to normal position the throttle may be controlled manually in the usual manner with the lever D, without hindrance from the rod 94 which has suiiicient play and enough resiliency to permit of the slight inward and outward move ment of the throttle stem C. Neither will the operation of the throttle lever D be hindered by the lever 114, as the same is free to move with said throttle lever independently of the piston 106, owing to the sleeve connection 110 which is free to slide back and forth upon its respective prong of the fork 108. The air brake E may be manually operated without hindrance from the lever 120, owing to the pin-and-slot connection 127 between the link 12-6 and the extension 128.

In some instances it may be preferable to use compressed air for actuating the pistons 93 and 106, in which case the pipe 74 is connected to one of the air reservoirs of the air brake system.

From the foregoing description it will be readily understood that I have provided an automatic stop possessing the advantages above enumerated, and while I have shown and described the preferred form of my apparatus, I reserve the right to make such changes in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts as properly fall within the spirit and scope of the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: i

1. In combination with a self-propelled railway vehicle, a roclcshaft mounted on said vehicle, an arm fixed to said rock-shaft to actuate the same, means beside the track to actuate said arm, mechanism controlled by the rock-shaft to effect the stoppage of the vehicle when the arm is actuated, a ratchet fixed to the shaft, a pawl coacting with said ratchet to prevent the shaft and the arm from being restored to normal position after being actuated, and means which can be reached only by stopping the vehicle for disengaging said pawl from the ratchet so that the shaft and the arm can be restored to normal position.

2. In combination with a self-propelled railway vehicle, a rock-shaft mounted on said vehicle, an arm fixed to said rock-shaft to actuate the same, means beside the track to actuate said arm, mechanism controlled by the rock-shaft to efiect the stoppage of the vehicle when the arm is actuated, a ratchet filved to the shaft, a pawl coacting with said ratchet to prevent the shaft and the arm from being restored to normal position after being actuated, an inclosure for the ratchet and the pawl, a cable for disengaging the pawl from the ratchet so that the shaft and the arm can be restored to normal position, and means inclosing the cable almost its entire length so that it cannot be reached without stopping the vehicle.

8. In combination with a self-propelled railway vehicle, a rock-shaft mounted on said vehicle, an arm fixed to said rockshaft to actuate thesame, means beside the track to actuate said arm, mechanism controlled by the rock-shaft to eflect the stoppage of the Vehicle when the arm is actuated, a block fixed to the rock-shaft to yieldably hold the same stationary and coact with the arm in actuating said rock-shaft, and a spring pressed member coacting with said block.

In testimony whereof I'aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

EVERETT N. STANLEY.

Witnesses HowARD D. STANLEY, JAS. O. HoFrMErs'rER. 

